


Everything Happens Eventually

by Singing_Violin



Category: Bones (TV)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Friendship, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-02
Updated: 2015-03-02
Packaged: 2018-03-16 01:18:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3469022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Singing_Violin/pseuds/Singing_Violin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A fluffy follow-up to the conversation on the marina in Season 2, taking place shortly after the Season 6 finale.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Everything Happens Eventually

**Author's Note:**

> The Bones characters and universe are not mine.

Agent Seeley Booth could not stop smiling lately. His partner, whom he had loved for as long as he could remember knowing her (though it had taken years to admit that to himself, and even longer to confess it to her), was pregnant, and he...he was the father. He was going to be a father...again.

Grinning as usual, he waltzed (not literally, though he was capable of doing so quite gracefully as he was a former champion ballroom dancer) into that very partner's office carrying two large submarine sandwiches: one steaming hot sausage and pepper, and one vegetarian. "Hey Bones, I know you're working on the case, so I got lunch for us!"

The world's foremost forensic anthropologist looked up from her work and smiled back at him. No wait...she wasn't smiling, she was grimacing.

He dropped the sandwiches on a nearby table and rushed over to her side. "What's wrong, Bones?" he asked worriedly.

She looked at him, mild panic in her eyes. "Uh. You know how I told you that I don't vomit, and you told me that everything happens eventually? I think...now might be the time..."

Suddenly he realized how green she looked. "Oh boy. Hold on...if you can." His eyes searched the room desperately. "I've got...a trash can!" He managed to grab her waste basket and, with one hand, bring it in front of her just in time. With his other hand, he rubbed her back soothingly.

When she was done, she collapsed back into her chair, looking exhausted. He put down the trash can beside her, then grabbed a tissue out of the box on her desk and tenderly wiped the sides of her mouth. "What can I do?" he offered quietly.

"Get the food out of here. Now," she ordered, her voice commanding and surprisingly strong, given the state of the rest of her.

He nodded. "Got it." Quickly, he ran over to where he'd deposited the sandwiches and raced them out of the room, handing them to the first person he saw, who happened to be Dr. Jack Hodgins. "Hey, Hodgins, lunch is on me," he told him, foisting the sandwiches into the genius's hands. "Feel free to share with the squintern."

"Uh, thanks?" Hodgins answered uncertainly. "What's going on?"

Booth must have looked uncomfortable enough that before he could reply, Hodgins continued, "You know what? Never mind. I'm not going to look a gift of food in the mouth, especially since Angela tells me I don't eat enough when she's not here to feed me...thanks."

"You're welcome," he muttered as he raced away, back towards Dr. Brennan's office via the kitchen. Hodgins shook his head in confusion, then sniffed the sandwiches and uttered a murmur of delight as his stomach rumbled.

When Agent Booth returned to his partner's office, this time with a cup of water from the cooler, she was sitting hunched over her desk, her head in her hands.

He approached her side and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Hey," he spoke softly. "You feeling any better? Should I take you home?"

She shook her head, then looked up. "I'm okay," she told him, "I think. Embarrassed, though."

Booth offered her the water, which she gratefully took and gingerly sipped before placing it down.

He sat on the edge of her desk and looked her in the eyes, hand still on her shoulder (though rotated from its previous position). "You know what?" he said. "There is absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about. I should have remembered that pregnant ladies are particularly sensitive to smell. As a vegetarian, you're probably especially averse to smells of stuff you wouldn't eat anyway."

She shook her head. "It's not just that. Do you remember where we were when we had that discussion I mentioned?"

He nodded. "Yeah, at the marina, watching Sully sail away without you. I was trying to convince you to get breakfast, and you said you weren't hungry."

"I knew that smell, Booth. That sausage and pepper...it was Sully's favorite. He shared it with me, back before I went vegetarian. Back then, I thought it smelled good. But today..."

Booth sighed. "It's not just the smell; it's got emotional resonance for you. That's the smell of disappointment, of abandonment, perhaps of fear."

"What?" She looked confused and a little annoyed. "Booth, no...you can't smell emotions."

"Maybe not directly, Bones, but we know smell is inextricably linked to emotion and memory. Look, I'm not going to argue psychology with you right now, but I will tell you that I'm sorry I made you vomit. I should have known better than to bring that particular item in here. Sully was the one that introduced me to it, years ago. I should have remembered."

At that, she smiled weakly. "You know what I remember? I remember being angry that you were there, when all I wanted to do was be alone in my misery. And then, I remember your putting your arm around me and _insisting_ that we go get breakfast. Not taking no for an answer."

He frowned. "You know, maybe I was a little bit presumptuous, maybe that's why we were fighting so much right afterwards, despite what that British shrink said. I'm sorry for that, too."

She shook her head once more. "No, Booth, I actually found it...strangely comforting. I didn't want to admit it to you then, but I was glad you were there. That I wasn't alone, even after refusing the best offer of companionship I'd ever gotten. Even when I didn't know I needed someone...heck, even when you were with someone else, you were always there for me."

To her dismay, his face fell, souring slightly. All he could see was the image of her sobbing next to him in his car after he'd saved her life, which she'd so carelessly nearly discarded in the midst of a case she'd taken way too personally. He heard himself telling her that he was with Hannah, that she'd missed her opportunity to be with him...he'd felt like a jerk, but he knew she'd appreciate the logic, which she had, even if she was momentarily too sleep-deprived to control her emotions. He remembered asking her if he should call someone to be with her; he'd been so worried. But she'd said she'd be fine alone, and he couldn't override her then, not with Hannah waiting for him at home.

"I haven't always been there for you as much as I wanted to," he admitted darkly, taking her hands in his own. "And one day, I may not be there for you, not out of choice, but out of necessity. But I promise this: I will always be there for you when I can."

"Why?" she asked, looking woefully at him.

"Because," he answered without hesitation, "you're my best friend, and my partner, and I love you. You make the world a better place."

" _We_ make the world a better place," she contradicted. "You're _my_ partner too."

At that, he grinned again, then got up. "You know what, Bones? You've got to eat...let me get you something a bit more agreeable."

She groaned slightly, putting a hand on her stomach and eyeing him askance. "I'm really not interested..."

"Have a little faith." He shot her an impish half-smile. "I'm thinking of raiding Angela's office to see if she has any, you know, pregnancy food left. I'll be right back."

A few minutes later, Dr. Brennan was looking dubiously at a box of crackers, placed unceremoniously upon her desk. "Eat," Booth urged, standing in front of her. "Otherwise what are you going to vomit next time?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Really? I've got to ask Angela how she managed this."

"You know what, Bones? That's a great idea. After you have something to eat, let's go visit Angela and Michael Vincent. I heard she's bored out of her mind on maternity leave, and wouldn't mind some company. And it's not like your mind is exactly on work right now."

"I guess it isn't," she admitted.

He grinned widely, opening the box, grabbing a cracker, and bringing it in front of his partner's mouth. "Now please, have a nibble. I'm not going anywhere."

She snatched it away from him. "And if it doesn't stay down?"

"Trash can!" he declared triumphantly.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is always appreciated. This fandom is new to me: I binge-watched the whole series so far in the last couple of months. (Thank goodness for Netflix!)


End file.
